Commissioner Andriukaitis welcomes second reading agreement vote by the European Parliament on GMO cultivation

Brussels, 13 January 2015

The European Parliament's vote in favour of the legislative proposal on GMO cultivation brings us one step closer to providing Member States with tools to decide on cultivation of EU authorised GMOs on their territory, based on reasons other than risk on health and the environment.

I wish to congratulate the European Parliament and thank the Members of the European Parliament, and more particularly Ms Frédérique Ries as rapporteur for the file, as well as the Council, who managed to move beyond their divergences and make a significant step forward, after 4 years of intense debates on this issue.

The agreement meets Member States' consistent calls since 2009, to have the final say on whether or not GMOs can be cultivated on their territory, in order to better take into account their national context. The agreement retains a strong risk assessment and authorisation system for GMOs guaranteeing a high and uniform level of safety throughout the EU. I fully trust that this legislation will be endorsed in the coming weeks by the Council, allowing the Member States to start exercising their extended capacities to decide on GMO cultivation as from spring this year.